The benefits of providing a metallic shield around an electrical connector have long been known. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) can be reduced, if not eliminated, if a suitable shield is placed around an electrical connector and connected to ground potential to drain the interferences to ground.
Many connectors employ metallic shells or shields therearound to effectively provide such function. However, many of these shields are bulky and must employ separate hardware to secure the shields to the connector.
In addition, many connector applications require that the connector be repeatedly inserted and removed from a mating connector housing where the mating connector housing has electrical contacts therein which make ground connection to the electrical shield to establish ground continuity between the mating connectors. Often during repeated cycles of insertion and removal, prior art connection devices have encountered the problem of the connector shield dislodging from the connector housing. This is especially true where attempts have been made to reduce the hardware necessary to secure the shield to the housing.
Another problem encountered in shielded connector applications is that certain of these connectors are supported on a printed circuit board. The contacts extending from the connector must be soldered to through-holes in the printed circuit board. The typical soldering process may include moving the connector and the printed circuit board through a solder wave where it is subject to vibration. Again, it is important that the shield be securely mounted to the connector housing to avoid the possibility of the shield dislodging from the connector housing during the wave solder process.
It is desirable to provide a shielded electrical connector where the shield of the connector is supported to the housing without the use of additional mounting hardware and further where the shield will be securely retained on the housing regardless of soldering vibration or insertion and removal stress.